Salukis get off losing schnide with win over Chicago State
</element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[No one was breaking out the champagne after the 0-3 Salukis beat Chicago State, but the team played respectably, and there were several individual performances that bode well for the future.
After starting the season with JUCO transfers T.J. Lindsay and Jeff Early in the starting back court, the coaching staff changed course two games ago and started Josh Swan and Diamond Taylor. The result has been a much more cohesive offense.
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Swan, a true freshman from Atlanta, is learning the point guard position on the fly. While his shooting numbers are not good (3-of-15), he has steadied the offense at this critical position. Swan had four assists and no turnovers against Chicago State - a team that applied heavy full-court pressure.
You'd like to see Swan shoot a better percentage, and that will likely happen as he gets a feel for how much time he has to get shots off at the college level. He was a 40 percent shooter from 3-point in high school and has good form.
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Taylor, a redshirt sophomore, finally realized the potential he has as a scorer. In his first 22 games as a Saluki, he cracked double figures only twice. A 19-point breakout performance against the Cougars should give him confidence to keep shooting.
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The Salukis desperately need Taylor to pick up his game on offense, because senior guard Justin Bocot is struggling to score. In the last three games, Bocot is 4-for-16 from the field with 14 turnovers and three assists.
Bocot has been a part-time starter throughout his career at Southern. Now, he's being asked to carry the scoring load and is drawing an opponent's top defender every game.
According to the coaches, Bocot has played extremely well in practice, but the performance is not carrying over to the game. He appears to be pressing.
I sat next to ESPN analyst Stephen Bardo during Friday's game, and he said Bocot is not playing with the same confidence he's seen in the past. When Bocot finally made a 3-point shot late in Friday's win, he threw both hands up in the air as if to say, "It's about time!"
It should be noted that Bocot got off to a slow start last year as well. In the first 11 games, he was 5-for-26 from 3-point range. He finished the season by making 8-of-16.
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After shooting 5-for-20 from the field in the first three games, Early settled down to make 5-of-7 against Chicago State. When he lets the game come to him instead of forcing the issue, the athletic JUCO guard can give the team quality minutes.
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Without forward Dantiel Daniels, who is nursing a pulled groin, the Salukis are thin along the front court. Mamadou Seck and freshman Treg Setty have been solid, but freshmen Harry Whitt and Antonio Bryer are both raw prospects.
Where the Salukis really miss Daniels is as an interior defender. He blocked nine shots in the first two games.
Coach Lowery said Daniels sustained the injury in the opener against Ohio Dominican, but didn't tell the medical staff. He continued to play on it, causing the injury to gradually worsen. Daniels played just 14 minutes against Northeastern on Nov. 19, and hasn't practiced since. With 10 days until the Salukis play Western Kentucky, you'd like to think he'll be able to return by then, but Lowery was noncommittal when asked about a timeframe.
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Two of SIU's opponents are off to great starts. Saint Louis is 5-0 and has wins over Washington, Boston College and Villanova. They look like an NCAA Tournament team so far. Northeastern is 3-1 and has a pair of road wins, including a victory at St. John's.
The next four games on the schedule are very winnable for Southern. Western Kentucky (2-5), Western Michigan (0-6), Northern Illinois (0-5) and SIUE (0-4) are a combined 2-20.
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The Missouri Valley Conference RPI is a solid No. 7 as of today. The league is 33-15 and has marquee wins over Iowa, Providence, Texas Tech, Rutgers, Colorado, Iowa State and Butler.